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U3.3;7S
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BULLETIN OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU, No. 75
WHAT THE WAGE-EARNING WOMAN
CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY
SUPPORT
{Public—No. 259—66th Congress]
[H. R. 13229]
An Act To establish in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women’s Bureau
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be estab
lished in the Department of Labor a bureau to be known as the
Women’s Bureau.
Sec. 2. That the said bureau shall be in charge of a director, a
woman, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate, who shall receive an annual compensa
tion of $5,000. It shall be the duty of said bureau to formulate
standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage
earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their
efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employ
ment. The said bureau shall have authority to investigate and report
to the said department upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of
women in industry. The director of said bureau may from time to
time publish the results of these investigations in such a manner and
to such extent as the Secretary of Labor may prescribe.
Sec. 3. That there shall be in said bureau an assistant director, to
be appointed by the Secretary of Labor, who shall receive an annual
compensation of $3,500 and shall perform such duties as shall be
prescribed by the director and approved by the Secretary of Labor.
Sec. 4. That there is hereby authorized to be employed by said
bureau a chief clerk and such special agents, assistants, clerks, and
other employees at such rates of compensation and in such numbers
as Congress may from time to time provide by appropriations.
Sec. 5. That the Secretary of Labor is hereby directed to furnish
sufficient quarters, office furniture and equipment, for the work of
this bureau.
Sec. 6. That this Act shall take effect and be in force from and
after its passage.
Approved, June 5, 1920.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, SECRETARY
WOMEN’S BUREAU
MARY ANDERSON, Director
BULLETIN
OF THE WOMEN’S
BUREAU,
No. 75
WHAT THE WAGE-EARNING WOMAN
CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY
SUPPORT
BY
AGNES L PETERSON
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1929
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
Price 5 cents
:4AW<VDH1JMA2 1- AW1HT i AHW
mot-m
CONTENTS
.
Introduction
Increase in number of married women gainfully employedIII
Inadequacy of men’s wages~"H~
Cost of livingII
Time lost by men_IIIIIIII
Average earnings of men____________________ ______________ I_II_
Contributions by women___________________________________ "II_"
Census data for four citiesI
Other studies~~~
Pr.ge
1
2
g
7
7
8
10
13
ig
TABLES
Table 1. Proportion of the population gainfully occupied, 1880 to 1920,
by sex
2
2. Sex distribution of persons gainfully occupied, 1880 to 1920.1
3
3. Age distribution of persons gainfully occupied, bv sex, 1920__
3
4. Marital condition of gainfully occupied women, 1890 to 1920._
4
5. Number and per cent of married women 10 years of age and over
in woman-employing manufacturing anil mechanical indus
tries, certain Pennsylvania localities, 1900, 1910, and 1920..
5
6. Marital condition of gainfully occupied women (studies by
Women’s Bureau)g
7. Average minimum cost of maintaining a fair American standard
of living for the family of an industrial worker, his wife, and
two children, in 12 industrial cities in 1927____________
7
8. Average earnings of male wage earners in manufacturing indus
tries, third quarter of 1927
8
9. Contributions of sons and of daughters, Manchester, N. II___
11
10. Women’s contributions to the family as reported by various
agenciesI__________________
12
11. Family status and family responsibilities of bread winning
women, by marital status—four cities, 1920___________
14
12. Number of men and women wage earners in bread winning
families, by size of family—three cities, 1920__________
16
13. Bread winning mothers having children of specified age groups
at home, in school, or at work—four cities, 1920_______
17
14. Bread winning mothers having children of specified age groups
at home, in school, or at work, by marital status of mother—
four cities, 1920
17
15. Women who had total “dependents” as reported by various
agencies
18
16. Women contributing to “dependents” as reported by various
agencies
19
III
WHAT THE WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES
TO FAMILY SUPPORT1
INTRODUCTION
OMPARABLE data on annual earnings of men and women are
not available in sufficient quantity to offer a sound basis for
Cdefinite
conclusions on the relative importance of men and women
in the economic status of the family, but a number of reports do
offer figures on the contribution of women to famify support. More
over, it is possible to estimate, from hourly rates of pay, the total
amounts that men regularly employed during the year can earn in
certain occupations, and these data, together with information in
regard to the purchasing power of the dollar and the cost of living in
selected communities, furnish indisputable evidence of the need in
many families for wife and daughters to supplement the earnings of
husband and father in order to provide the necessities of life, even
under conditions well above the lowest economic levels.
There are available census data of the number, age, and occupa
tional distribution of women and the number in gainful employment
who had husbands at the time the census was taken, and figures
collected by special studies in regard to (1) work problems, (2) family
responsibilities, and (3) wages of women and their contribution to
family support. Many of the studies in the groups last mentioned
furnish data on the number of single women, the number of widows
and separated women, and the number of children involved—in
some cases the exact composition of the family and the living con
ditions are reported—and therefore they furnish material not tabu
lated in the regular census reports. The material collected varies
greatly in regard to type of employment, number and ages of the
women involved, time of assembling, and geographical location,
but m the aggregate it is very much alike as regards purpose and
method of study. By and large, it offers conclusive evidence of the
fact that women’s contribution to family support is considerable.
In fact, the data suggest that in many homes in the United States
women form the last line of economic defense.
It is true that some of the studies made offer only fragmentary
material, but others pertain to a considerable and representative
number of individuals and conditions. Therefore, it is significant
that each separate study shows practically the same condition and
adds information to that already compiled on the importance of
woman’s share in family support. In addition to showing this
importance, the data offer rather conclusive evidence on a closely
related aspect that also is of paramount social significance—namely,
the great personal sacrifice demanded of women in order that they
may make a contribution to the support of their families. If this
service to the family were evaluated in relation to the earnings and
to the personal need of the woman concerned, it would represent a
spmt of devotion that is, to say the least, heroic; if appraised in
relation to the cost in human energy demanded of many of these
women, it would indicate the need for State and National GovemPa.fMay^im0 VoThCXLmS
Academy of r°Iitical and Social Science, Phiiadeli-nia.
1
2
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
ment to give more serious attention to the problems of employed
women than has been given in the past.
_
It can not be emphasized too strongly that any discussion of
woman’s contribution to the home that does not include a reference
to certain handicaps that tradition and custom have placed upon her
sex fails to offer a fair treatment of the subject. A considerable
body of fact offers proof that the work women do and the service they
render industry, home, and community challenge the practice still
obtaining to pay women at a wage standard below that paid to men.
As a matter of fact, this practice is in part responsible for the need
that compels so manv women to carry the double burden of bread
winner and homo maker. The general custom of paying wages on
the basis of sex not only is unjust but complicates home problems for
women. It is a relic of the dark ages when even many women failed
to place an economic value on productive labor done in the home.
Another age-worn theoretical myth, of corresponding vintage and
value, has reacted to the disadvantage of women, namely, that which
is called chivalry in men and which tradition holds should protect
women. The exact contrary is the true situation: That the double
standard in wages and the absence of chivalry have resulted in the
unscrupulous exploitation of the potential motherhood of the land.
The majority of employed women are at a great disadvantage, either
because the needs of their families are so great that they do not dare
to bargain about a job for fear of losing out altogether or because they
are too young and inexperienced to choose or bargain among the jobs
available.
INCREASE IN NUMBER OF MARRIED WOMEN GAINFULLY
EMPLOYED
From census data may be seen the increase in the number and pro
portion of men and women in gainful employment during the 40
years intervening between the census of 1880 and that of 1920, the
increase in the proportion of women in the wage-earning population,
and the increase in the employment of married women since 1890.
The following table indicates that the proportion of men at work
was about the same in 1920 as in 1880, but that the proportion of
wage earners among women had increased from 14.7 per cent to 21.1
per cent of the woman population.
Table 1.—Proportion of the population gainfully occupied, 1880 to 1920, by sex1
Population
years of
Sex and census year 10age
and
over
Women:
18902 .
1900
1910
1920.....................
18,025,627
23,060,900
28,246,384
34, 552,712
40,449, 346
Number
Per
cent
Persons 10 years
of age and over
Population engaged in gain
years of ful occupations
Sex and census year 10age
and
over
Per
Number cent
2,647,157
4,005, 532
5,319, 397
8,075, 772
8,549, 511
14. 7
17.4
18.8
23.4
21.1
Men:
1880,...................
18902...................
1900.....................
1910.....................
1920.....................
Persons 10 years
of age and over
engaged in gain
ful occupations
18,735,980
24,352, 659
29,703, 440
37,027, 558
42,289,969
14, 744,942
19,312,651
23,753,836
30,091,564
33,064, 737
78.7
79.3
80.0
81.3
78.2
1 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 46, Facts About Working Women (based on census statistics), 1925,
p. 4.
2 Figures for 1890 are exclusive of persons in Indian Territory and on Indian reservations, areas specially
enumerated at that census but for which occupation statistics are not available.
INCREASE OF MARRIED WOMEN GAINFULLY EMPLOYED
3
In addition to the increase in the proportion of all women who were
employed, women have almost consistently made headway in their
place among all occupied persons. From 1900 to 1910 their advance
was so spectacular that they receded slightly in the decade following.
By 1920 one wage earner in five was a woman, though in 1880 the
number had been nearer one in seven, as is indicated by the table
following:
Table 2.—Sex distribution of persons gainfully occupied, 1880 to 1920 1
Census year
1880.................................................
1890...............................................
1900........................................... ...............
1910........................
1920...................................................
Persons 10
years of age
and over
gainfully
occupied
17,392, 099
23,318,183
29, 073, 233
38, 167, 336
41, 614, 248
Women
Number
2, 647,157
4,005, 532
5,319, 397
8, 075, 772
8,549, 511
Men
Per
cent
15.2
17.2
18.3
21.2
20.5
Number
14, 744, 942
19, 312, 651
23, 753, 836
30, 091, 564
33, 064, 737
Per
cent
84.8
82.8
81.7
78.8
79.5
1 Compiled from Women’s Bureau Bulletin 40, Facts About Working Women (based on census statistics),
1925, p. 4.
The considerable changes in the occupational distribution of
women from 1910 to 1920 were in agriculture (largely due to the
difference in census date), in domestic and personal service, and in
clerical occupations.
The preponderance of young women in the economic life of the
nation is illustrated by the fact that one in every five of the more
than 8,500,000 women in gainful employment in 1920 was less than
20 years of age—a total of 1,758,000, of whom 346,600 were under 16.
The significance of this in the light of the importance to the Nation
of the health and normal development of its young women is apparent.
Table 3 shows at a glance that the women are massed more generally
in the younger and the men more generally in the older groups.
Table 3.—Age distribution of persons gainfully occupied, by sex, 1920 1
Women
Men
Age group
Per
cent
Number
8,549,511
100.0
33, 064, 737
100.0
346, 610
1,411, 427
1, 809, 075
3,417, 373
1, 352, 479
196,900
15, 647
4.1
16.5
21.2
40.0
15.8
2.3
.2
714, 248
2, 547,424
4,121, 392
15, 579, 586
8, 552, 175
1,492, 837
57,075
2.2
7.7
12.5
47.1
25.9
4.5
.2
Number
10 years and over..............................
Under 16 years...........................................................................
20 to 24 years.......................................................
25 to 44 years....................................................
65 years and over_______ ________
Age unknown............................................................
Per
cent
1 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 46, Facts About Working Women (based on census statistics), 1925,
4
WAGE-E ARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
The data for 1920 show in addition that 1 in every 4 of the
wage-earning women was reported to be married. Since census
figures on married women do not include those widowed or divorced,
the great increase shown in the proportion of married women in
gainful employment since the taking of the census of 1890 has social
significance of great importance. There were reported in 1890 some
thing over 515,000 married women in gainful employment, between
4 and 5 per cent of all married women. In 1920, on the other hand,
nearly 2,000,000 married women were employed, constituting 9 per
cent, or 1 in 11, of all the married women of the country.
Table 4.-—Marital condition of gainfully occupied women, 1890 to 1920 1
Women 15 years of age and over
Engaged in gainful
occupations
Census year and marital condition
Total num
ber
Number
Per
cent
1890
19,602,178
3,712,144
18.9
11,124, 785
8,477, 393
515,260
3,196,884
4.6
37.7
24, 249,191
4,997,415
20.6
Single, widowed, divorced, and unknown---------------- -------------------
13, 810,057
10, 439,134
769,477
4, 227,938
5.6
40.5
1910
Aggregate-..............................................................................................
30, 047, 325
7,639,828
25.4
17,684,687
12. 362,638
1, 890,661
5, 749,167
10.7
46. 5
35,177, 515
8, 346, 796
23.7
21, 318,933
13, 858, 582
1,920,281
6,426, 515
9.0
46.4
1900
1920
Aggregate...........................................................-...................................
i From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 46, Facts About Working Women (based on census statistics), 192S,
p. 34.
In addition to the census figures, which show 9 per cent of the
married women in the United States to be employed, there are indica
tions of a considerable increase in the proportion as well as in the
number of married women since the 1920 census. An instance lies
in a recent study of women in a rural section of Pennsylvania, made
by the Women’s Bureau, for which census figures on marital condition
were prepared. (See Table 5.) Attention is called to the fact that
the term “married” as used in this table conforms with the usual
census classification and does not include women who have, been
divorced or separated. Nevertheless, in each case the proportion of
married women who were employed is much higher than that reported
by the census for the country as a whole, which was,23.7 per cent.
INCREASE OF MARRIED WOMEN GAINFULLY EMPLOYED
5
Table 5.—Number and per cent of married women 10 years of age and over in
woman-employing manufacturing and mechanical industries, certain Pennsyl
vania localities, 1900, 1910, and 1920 1
Allentown
Married
Total
women
Census num
ber
of
year
wageearn
ing Num- Per
wom ber cent
en
I
1900.... 1,797
109
1910___ 3,101
420
1920___ 3, 450 1,112
1
South Bethlehem2
Coplay
Married
Total
women
num
ber of
wageearn
ing Num Per
wom ber cent
en
Married
Total
women
num
ber of
wageearn
ing Num Per
wom ber cent
en
6. 1
464
13.5 1,262
32.2
993
7
303
330
1.5
24.0
33.2
12
160
174
56
92
Northampton 3
35.0
52.9
Palmerton 4
Married
women
Married
Total
women
num
ber of
wagewageearn
earn
ing Num Per
ing Num Per
wom ber cent wom ber cent
en
en
Total
num-
378
493
120
230
31. 7
46.7
90
29
32.2
1 From unpublished data of the Bureau of the Census.
2 Incorporated with Bethlehem in 1917. The data in this table from the 1920 census are comparable with
the boundaries of South Bethlehem in 1900 and 1910.
3 Incorporated as Alliance Borough in 1902 and its name changed to Northampton in 1909.
4 Incorporated in 1912.
Census figures of the number of women widowed, divorced, or
otherwise separated from husbands are not available. Nor do the
census data show the number or proportion of single women among
those employed. For this reason the Women’s Bureau has made a
special effort to gather information on marital status in a number of
its studies. Table 6 presents evidence of the fact that married,
widowed, and divorced women form a greater per cent of the total
than could possibly be appreciated from seeing only the census
tabulations on marital status of employed women. Some of these
data will, in addition, serve as a background for material to be pre
sented in a later section of this article.
The data collected by the Women’s Bureau indicate that the num
ber of women who are or have been married is so large that it forms
46.7 per cent of the 169,255 involved in all the studies. In 10 studies
single women form less than 50 per cent of the group and in 3 the
proportion drops below 35 per cent. This is most remarkable, in
view of the fact that one-fifth of all employed women are under 20
years of age and considering that the Women’s Bureau studies show
the situation usual in woman-employing industries and may be said
to be representative of the general situation.2 Consequently, these
data furnish evidence of the extent to which women who are or have
been married are in gainful employment and the great need for addi
tional classification of women according to marital status.
Special attention is called to the figures given in the study “The
Family Status of Bread winning Women in Four Selected Cities”
(Women’s Bureau Bulletin 41), because these 38,377 women form
38.3 per cent of the woman population 14 years of age and over in
the four cities surveyed—Butte, Mont., Jacksonville, Fla., Passaic,
N. J., and Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Township, Pa.
1A possible exception is the study of foreign-born women in industry, in which only 25.9 per cent of the
women were single.
61261°—29------2
6
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
Table 6.—Marital
condition of gainfully occupied women (studies by Women’s
Bureau)
STATE STUDIES
Number and per cent of women who were—
Number
Widowed,
of wornMarried
Single
en re separated, or
divorced
Date of study porting
on mari
tal con
dition Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber
ber
cent
cent
ber
cent
State
Total for 17 States surveyed.__
1920 to 1929
105,403
16,501
15.7
26,081
24.7
62,821
59.6
1920
1920
1920
1921
1921
1921
1922
1922
1922
1922
1922
1924
1924
1924
1925
1925
1928-1929
5,618
2,576
3,132
6,571
5,004
3,495
2,518
2,649
9,699
13, 082
16, 222
2,383
17,966
3, 255
1,028
6,915
3, 290
917
204
661
944
966
516
627
549
1,569
1,426
2,784
494
2,207
411
172
1,327
727
16.3
7.9
21.1
14.4
19.3
14.8
24.9
20.7
16.2
10.9
17.2
20.7
12.3
12.6
16.7
19.2
22.1
1,262
380
911
1,186
998
1,241
637
708
1,963
2,860
4, 613
792
4, 032
1,095
230
1,963
1, 210
22.5
14.8
29.1
18.0
19.9
35.5
25.3
26.7
20.2
21.9
28.4
33.2
22.4
33.6
22.4
28.4
36.8
3,439
1,992
1,560
4, 441
3, 040
1,738
1,254
1,392
6.167
8, 796
8,825
1, 097
11,727
1,749
626
3, 625
1,353
61.2
77.3
49.8
67.6
60.8
49.7
49.8
52.5
63.6
67.2
54.4
46.0
65.3
53.7
60.9
52.4
41.1
13, 070
20.5
23,380
36.6
27, 402
42.9
SPECIAL STUDIES
Total for 8 special studies
The share of wage-earning women in
Family
status
of
breadwinning
1919 to 1928
63, 852
1919 and 1920
3,654
756
20.7
959
26.2
1,939
53.1
1920
38,377
8,118
21.2
12,895
33.6
17,364
45.2
1921
1,532
153
10.0
365
23.8
1,014
66.2
1923
460
77
16.7
137
29.8
246
53.5
1923
2,350
309
13.1
939
40.0
1,102
46.9
3,014
2,146
12,319
169, 255
419
364
2,874
29, 571
13.9
17.0
23.3
17.5
1, 565
1, 227
5,293
49, 461
51.9
57.2
43.0
29.2
1,030
555
4,152
90,223
34.2
25.9
33.7
53.3
Women in the candy industry in
Domestic workers and their employLost time and labor turnover in cotWomen in the fruit-growing and
canning industries in the State of
Foreign-born women in industry___
Conditions for women in laundries.
1923
1924-1925
1927-1928
1919 to 1929
1 For Jacksonville, Fla., with 15,712 of the 38,377 women in the 4 cities, the women were 65 per cent negroes.
For the other studies, State and special, practically all the figures are for white women.
2 See footnote *.
When one considers that in 1920 the number of women in the
female population who were in gainful employment was 21.1 per
cent of the total, a proportion that had increased from 14.7 per cent
in 1880, and that in 1920 as many as 9 per cent of all married women
were in gainful employment, a figure that had increased from 4.6
per cent in 1890, the significance of the data is more readily under
stood.
INADEQUACY OF MEN’S WAGES
The inability of a large number of men to earn sufficient to cover
the cost of living for the family makes it necessary for many women,
in every State of the Union, to seek employment and to share with
husband and father in the support of the family.
7
INADEQUACY OF MEN’S WAGES
Undoubtedly it is true that the degree of this need varies according
to individual standards of living, based on the custom, experience, or
preference of individuals or the practices of a community. However,
there are available the findings of authoritative studies of the food,
shelter, and clothing necessary for a family of a given size to meet a
standard of living below which families in these United States
should not be allowed to fall or to meet the lower standard below
which no family can fall without deterioration. In certain lines of
work it is impossible for men to earn even the sum required for this
lower standard, though employed full time and for the 52 weeks of
the year. And few laborers or factory workers have employment the
year around.
Cost of living.
A recent study of the wage earner’s cost of living is one made by
the National Industrial Conference Board of the “average minimum
cost of maintaining a fair American standard of living for the family
of an industrial worker, his wife, and two children” in 12 industrial
cities in 1927. These costs for the family of four, including no
provision for savings, range from $ 1,442 a year in one of four small
cities, Marion, Ohio, to $1,660 in New York City. The figures are
summarized in Table 7. A similar standard for the family of five in
New York City averaged $1,880 in 1926, according to the conference
board.
Table 7.—Average minimum cost of maintaining a fair American standard of
living for the family of an industrial worker, his wife, and two children, in 12
industrial cities in 19271
Locality
Large cities:
Medium-size cities:
Weekly Yearly
cost
cost
Locality
Weekly Yearly
cost
cost
Small cities:
$31. 30
29.83
31.92
31.31
$1,627
1,552
1,660
1,628
28. 91
31.12
30.17
30.80
1,504
l'618
1,1,602
569
States:
$27.87
28. 05
30.13
27. 73
$1,449
1,459
1, 567
1,442
31. 60
30.22
29.84
29.08
1,643
1, 571
1, 552
1, 512
1 National Industrial Conference Board: The Economic Status of the Wage Earner in New York and
Other States. New York, 1928, pp. 85 and 90.
To meet these costs of supporting a family, even at the $1,500 or
$1,600 level of the National Industrial Conference Board for the
family of four, the wage earner must receive from $29 to $31 a week
for the full 52 weeks; while to secure the $1,800 required by several
studies for a minimum health-and-decency standard of living for five
persons he must receive at least $34.50 regularly. What is the actual
situation?
Time lost by men.
The first question, before one can estimate annual earnings, is as
to how much time the wage earner loses in a year. It is well known
that in few cases can he count on 52 full weeks of work. There are,
however, no very satisfactory estimates of the average amount of
time lost from the various causes, of which illness and slack work
are the most important.
8
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
In regard to slack work, a number of reports by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the years 1923 to 1925 furnish important
data. In 15 industrial groups, ranging from lumbering and mining
to machine shops and motor-vehicle factories, 2,341 establishments
reported the number of days operated and number of week days
idle during a 12-month period. The week days idle were 15 and
under 20 in 8 industries, 20 and under 40 in 3, and 40 or more (40,
45, 85, and 125, respectively) in 4, the median falling at 19 days, or
slightly more than 3 working weeks. When to this figure is added
the loss due to illness or other unavoidable personal cause, there is
abundant justification for taking lost time into consideration in esti
mates of earning possibilities.
Average earnings of men.
What are the earnings shown by various surveys, and how adequate
are they to meet the cost of supporting a family? Table 8 gives
data from the most recent study by the National Industrial Con
ference Board of earnings in 25 manufacturing industries in the
United States, with comparable figures reported by 3 States for the
same period, the third quarter of 1927. According to the conference
board, the average actual weekly earnings of unskilled men in 25
industries were $24.13. Had these men averaged 52 weeks of em
ployment they would have earned only $1,255, and in 50 weeks, a
more likely amount of work, they would have averaged $1,206.
Both these figures are far below the conference board’s estimate of
the cost of maintaining a “fair American standard of living” for the
worker with a family of four.
Table 8.—Average
earnings of male wage earners in manufacturing industries,
third quarter of 1927
Group reported
Average of annual
Average earnings of males—
num of
Number Total
actual
of plants ber of em weekly
reporting ployees,
If em
If em
both sexes earnings
ployed
of males ployed
52 weeks 50 weeks
1,600
771, 000
1, 600
l', 000
1,100
470, 000
230, 000
250, 000
$29. 59
24.13
31.09
33. 25
29.12
31.12
$1,539
1, 255
1,617
1,729
1,514
1,618
$1,479
1,206
1, 554
1,662
1, 456
1,556
1 National Industrial Conference Boaid. Wages in the United States, 1914-27. New York, 1928, pp.
18, 30.
2 New York. Department of Labor. Industrial Bulletin, August-October, 1927.
3 Massachusetts. Department of Labor and Industries. Press releases on Employment and Earnings,
August-October, 1927.
4 Illinois. Department of Labor. Labor Bulletin, August-October, 1927.
Unskilled laborers, according to the National Industrial Conference
Board, averaged 49 cents an hour. Even had they worked 10 hours a
day, 6 days a week, for 50 weeks, they would have earned only $1,470
in the year. Actually, they averaged 49.2 hours’ work weekly, and in
50 weeks could have earned only $1,205. In 15 of the 25 industries,
moreover, hourly earnings of unskilled men averaged less than 49
cents, ranging as low as 25 cents in southern cotton mills, 38 cents in
northern cotton mills, and 44 cents in the boot-and-shoe and the
INADEQUACY OF MEN’S WAGES
9
woolen industries.8 If these men had worked 60 hours a week for 52
weeks, their earnings would have been only $780, $1,186, and $1,373,
respectively.
For unskilled laborers in general annual earnings are not sufficient
to maintain a decent standard of living for a family without the earn
ings of someone other than the chief wage earner.
Skilled and semiskilled labor fares somewhat better, according to
the conference board study. This group of men in 25 industries aver
aged hourly earnings of 65 cents. With an average of 47.6 hours
worked they averaged $31 a week, and with 52 weeks of employment
they would have earned $1,609, enough to meet the conference board's
estimate of the cost of living in all but the largest cities. But the
wage earner can not count on 52 weeks’ work, and if he lost only two
weeks his annual earnings would drop to $1,547, below the conference
board’s estimate for the family of four in 8 of the 12 cities on which it
reported and considerably below the $1,800 estimate of other agencies
for the family of five.
Moreover, skilled and semiskilled labor in 15 of the 25 industries
reported on by the conference board earned less than the average, fall
ing as low as 36 cents an hour in southern cotton mills, 51 cents in
northern cotton mills, 55 cents in the boot-and-shoe industry, and 56
cents in meat packing—to give only a few examples.34 * If the men in
these industries had worked 60 hours a week for 50 weeks they would
have averaged $1,080, $1,530, $1,650, and $1,680, respectively. In
some industries skilled and semiskilled labor had average earnings
larger than these, but it is evident that in many industries the men’s
earnings are inadequate to maintain their families on a reasonable
health-and-decency level.
Three States that report monthly on the earnings of men and women
wage earners in manufacturing industries show a similar situation.
The figures include the unskilled as well as the skilled, and young
workers as well as the men with families, and they are so low as to
leave no doubt that many adult male wage earners have earnings too
low to maintain their families at a reasonable minimum standard of
living on their earnings alone.
In the bureau’s study of Manchester, N. H.,6 the husband’s earnings
were reported in the case of 113 working wives. Only 31 husbands
(27.4 per cent) earned as much as $1,500; 22 (19.5 per cent) earned
less than $1,000.
In a recent and as yet unpublished study of foreign-born women in
Pennsylvania, the husband’s earnings were reported in the case of
458 working wives. Only 108 husbands (23.6 per cent) earned as
much as $30 a week—$1,500 for 50 weeks’ work; 83 (18.1 per cent)
earned less than $20 a week—$1,000 for 50 weeks’ work. Interviews
brought out the women’s dread of sickness and unemployment. A
woman cigar maker was supporting her family, consisting of a husband
and two young children, because in six months the husband had had
only three or four days’ work. In another family, with three children,
the husband had been laid up for five months because of an injury.
His compensation was $12.50 a week. The family lived in one room
3 National Industrial Conference Board. Wages in the United States, 1914-1927. New York, 1928, pp. 29,
37, and 10b—156.
'
*
4 Idem.
8 See Part I of Women’s Brnjeau Bulletin 30, The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support.
10
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
and used a neighbor’s kitchen. The mother, it is hardly necessary to
state, was employed.
The data regarding the earnings of the chief male breadwinner
in these families of foreign-born women, as secured by interviews in
456 cases, correspond to the reports published by other authorities.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, using actual pay-roll
figures for one week, shows that wages in the State of Pennsylvania
for one week in September, 1925, averaged $26.19 for wage earners
employed in the manufacture of metal products, an industry including
automobiles, engines, blast furnaces, rolling mills, etc. In other
man-employing industries the average weekly wage was not very
different. In furniture plants it was $23.75, in leather tanneries
$24.15, and in building materials $28.15. These were the industries
in which many of the men of the families interviewed were employed.
In the face of these facts, and of the risk of illness and unemploy
ment, is it to be wondered at that large numbers of women, both
married and single, find it necessary to contribute regularly to the
support of their families?
CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN
The economic position of women appears to have been affected to a
greater degree and more generally than has that of men by the
striking changes made during the past few decades in the production
and handling of the business of the Nation. Whereas the new condi
tions have brought greater freedom of self-expression and action to
large numbers of women they have brought to others new economic
problems that are heavy and complex. In fact, some of the problems
that must be shouldered by women challenge our present social order.
It may be said that the new order of things has changed the actual
status of women in the home materially. While sickness, death, and
desertion always have brought heavy economic responsibilities to
many women, and while from the beginning it has been necessary for
some women to take the place of husbands and fathers, the now
order probably has aggravated the situation for women in regard to
those family problems that are due to the incapacity or loss of the
male breadwinner, since in the old days it was more common for the
dependent family to be supported by relatives than for the mother
to seek regular employment away from home. From the beginning of
time wives and daughters have made a contribution to the home
equal to, though differing from, the contribution made by wage
earning husbands and fathers; frequently the services rendered by
the women in the home have exceeded in actual money value the
contribution of the men.
One of the greatest differences between the old and the new order
for wage-earning women lies in the fact that in many cases marriage
fails to bring to women the economic security considered formerly
to be one of its chief advantages. Nowadays, marriage may bring
new financial responsibilities for wife as well as for husband. Since
able and deserving men in large numbers can not earn sufficient for
the needs of a family, a money contribution from the woman, as well
as from the man, is a necessity. Consequently, there is this great
difference from conditions a generation or so ago: That a large pro
portion of the families living in cities depend largely upon the earn
CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN
11
ings of women, and that in many homes the entire income is earned
by wife or daughters.
Some of the data collected on women’s share in family support
suggest that sons do not assume equal responsibility with daughters
toward the parental home. Whether this is because daughters
assume responsibilities more willingly than do sons toward dependents
to which the younger generation falls heir, or whether it is almost
wholly a matter of no choice, the daughters being at home and the
sons not, can not be said.
It may be considered common knowledge that sons do not forego
marriage and careers to anything like the extent that daughters
remain at home because of the needs of parents or younger sisters and
brothers. From the Women’s Bureau report on Manchester, N. H.,6
it is possible to compare the contributions of sons and of daughters.
This is done in the table following:
Table 9.—Contributions of sons and of daughters, Manchester, N. H.1
Daugh Sons
ters
Total number reporting
307
289
Contributing 50 per cent or more of
their earnings:
Number.........................................
Per cent_____________________
Contributing all their earnings:
Number................................ ..........
Per cent............................... ..........
232
75.6
176
60.9
184
59.9
100
34.6
Daugh Sons
ters
Per cent contributing all their earn
ings, by age group:
16 and under 18 years........ ..........
18 and under 20 years...................
20 and under 25 years
25 and under 30 years........ ..........
30 and under 40 years
40 and under 50 years_________
76.8
66.2
51.3
46.3
64.0
66.7
100.0
59.4
38.9
25.6
13.2
13.6
50.0
1 Prom Women’s Bureau Bulletin 30, The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support, 1923, pp.
60, 97, and 98.
Data combined from 20 studies of the share of women in family
support show that over 50 per cent of the women contributed to the
family all their earnings. The bulletin in which these figures appear 7
and a study of the Women’s Bureau pertaining to the marital status
of breadwinning women 8 are two outstanding contributions to the
material on the subject of women’s responsibilities and can not be
overlooked in an article that relates to this subject.
In its report on the share of wage-earning women in family support
the bureau has assembled considerable material on women’s con
tribution to the home. These data and some others on the same
subject are shown in Table 10.
8 See Part I of Women's Bureau Bulletin 30.
1 U. S. Department of Labor. Women’s Bureau. The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family
Support. Bui. 30, 1923.
• U. S. Department of Labor. Women’s Bureau. Family Status of Breadwinning Women In Four
Selected Cities (a study of census figures). Bui. 41, 1025.
12
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
Table 10.—Women’s contributions to the family as reported by various agencies 1
Type of women studied
Total for 20 studies 2.........................
*4
Women in stores and in manufacturing
other than textiles in 22 cities: At
home....... ....................................................
Women factory employees in four cities
in Illinois: At home
Women in hotels and restaurants in
seven cities: Total............................. .......
At home.................................................
Adrift____________________ _______
Women in stores and factories in seven
cities: Total............................................ .
At home____ ____ _________ ______
Adrift_________________ _______
Single women in the men’s ready-made
clothing industry in five cities: At
home....... ..................................................
Women in industry in Milwaukee,
Wis.: At home...........................................
Italian women in industry in New York
City: At home_______ _____ ________
Women in candy factories in Massachu
setts___________ ____ _______ _______
Women in laundries in Massachusetts...
Women in retail stores in Massachusetts_
Women in stores in Boston, Mass
Women in stores in Philadelphia, Pa.:
Total........................................................
At home_______________ __________
Adrift_________________ _____ ____
Single women in industry in Wisconsin:
At home.....______________________
Girls under 16 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.: At
home.............................................................
Women in industry in Michigan: At
home______________ _______ ________
Women munition workers in Bridge
port, Conn.: At home
Women in an electrical plant in Lynn,
Mass......................................... ..................
Women in an electrical plant in Schenec
tady, N. Y_________________________
Women in industry in Kansas
Women in industry in Wisconsin: At
home.......................................................
The family responsibilities of men and
women wage earners in Manchester,
N. H. (Women’s Bureau survey)
Women in the fruit-growing and can
ning industries in the State of Wash
ington (Women’s Bureau survey)........
Grand total for 22 studies
Date of
study
Num Women who contributed to their families—
ber of
women All their earn Part of their
Nothing
report
ings
earnings
ing on
contri Num Per Num Per Num Per
butions ber
ber
cent
ber
cent
cent
1888-1921
58, 639
30, 795
52.5
22,690
38.7
5,154
8.8
1888
13, 722
8, 754
63.8
4,267
31.1
701
5.1
1906
2, 094
1, 547
73.9
545
26.0
2
.1
1907-1909
308
116
192
75
75
24.4
64.7
67
27
40
21.8
23.3
20. 8
166
14
152
53.9
12.1
1907-1909
5, 854
4, 580
i; 274
3,436
3,436
58.7
75. 0
1,328
1, 043
285
22.7
22. 8
22.4
1,090
18.6
989
77.6
1907-1909
1,987
1,742
87.7
245
12.3
1911
1,078
875
81.2
197
18.3
6
.6
1911-1913
945
758
80.2
174
18.4
13
1.4
21912
21912
2 1912
1913-1914
836
748
2, 276
1,156
656
448
1,404
462
78.5
59.9
61. 7
40.0
170
293
796
521
20.3
39.2
35.0
45.1
10
7
76
4 173
1.2
.9
3.3
15.0
1913-1914
362
181
181
52
52
14.4
28.7
174
116
58
48.1
64.1
136
13
37.5
7.2
1913-1914
2.1
13,686
5,278
38.6
8,114
59.3
294
1914
302
250
82.8
45
14.9
7
2.3
1914
5,929
2,458
41.5
2,750
46.4
721
12.2
1916
97
49
50.5
48
49.5
1918
98
32
32.7
46
46.9
20
20.4
1918
1920
100
5, 620
36
2,102
36.0
37.4
42
1,973
42.0
35.1
«22
1, 545
22.0
27.5
1921
1,441
381
26.4
895
62.1
165
11.5
1920
527
302
57.3
167
31.7
58
11.0
1923
2, 513
1,698
67.6
298
11.9
517
20.6
1888-1923
61,679
32, 795
53.2
23,155
37.5
5,729
9.3
1 In different order, and with slight changes, taken from Women’s Bureau Bulletin 30, The Share
of Wage-Earning Women m Family Support, 1923, p. 131. At the foot are added two Women’s Bureau
studies.
* Sources of information: U. S. Bureau of Labor, Fourth annual report, 1888; Illinois Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Fourteenth biennial report, 1906; U. S. Department of Commerce and Labor, Report on
Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States, 1910-1912 (three studies); Consum
ers League of Wisconsin, Women’s Wages in Milwaukee, 1911: Russell Sage Foundation, Italian Women
in Industry, 1919; Massachusetts Commission on Minimum Wage Boards, Report, 1912 (three studies);
U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemployment Among Women in Department and Other Retail Stores
of Boston, 1916; Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Monthly Bulletin, January, 1915;
Wisconsin Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics, Cost of Living of Wage-Earning Women in Wis
consin, 1916; National Consumers’ League and National Child Labor Committee, Survey of Wage
Earning Girls Below 16 Years of Age in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 1915; Michigan Commission of
Inquiry on Minimum Wage Legislation for Women, Report . . . into Wages and the Conditions of Labor
for Women, etc., 1915; Russell Sage Foundation, Women as Munition Workers, 1917; National War
Labor Board, Cost of Living in Lynn, Mass., 1918 (unpublished), and Cost of Living in Schenectady,
New York, 1918 (unpublished); U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Women’s Wages in Kan
sas, 1921; and Wisconsin Industrial Commission, Cost of Living of Wage-Earning Women in Wisconsin,
1921 (unpublished).
* Date of publication of report.
4 27 of these were living adrift.
‘Adrift.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN
13
Census data for four cities.
Of 31,481 women in four cities reporting for the census of 1920 the
number of breadwinners in the family, 27.1 per cent stated that the
breadwinners were women only, 21 per cent reporting themselves as
sole contributor. Correlating these figures with the marital condi
tion of the women, it is not surprising that 82.8 per cent of those
widowed or divorced should have been without male assistance in
the support of the family, but that 11.2 per cent of the women reported
as married and 20.8 per cent of the single women also had no male
help is remarkable. The married women thus burdened were those
deserted or having husbands incapacitated or idle. The single women
would appear to illustrate the thesis regarding the responsibilities
assumed by daughters and sisters, since 1 in 5 were without the
assistance of father or brothers and 1 in 11 were the sole breadwinners
in their families. Table 11 gives in detail the data upon which the
foregoing statements are based.
14
Table
11.—Family status and family responsibilities of breadwinning women, by marital status—four cities, 1920 1
Family status
Women who were
sole breadwinners
Women who were one of two bread
winners
Number re
porting as
to number
of bread
winners in
Number Per cent Number Per cent
Number Per cent
family
Having men bread
winners
38,377
31,481
6,622
21.0
15,504
49.2
Having men bread
winners
Per cent Number
of 2 bread
winners
group
Number
All classes......................................
Women who were one of three or more
breadwinners
14,113
91.0
9,355
Per cent
29.7
Number
Per cent of
3 or more
breadwin
ners group
8,830
94.4
SINGLE
17,364
100.0
11,473
1,056
9.2
3,203
27.9
2, 280
71.2
7,214
62.9
6,801
94.3
10,418
1,055
1,413
2,834
1,644
60.0
6.1
8.1
16.3
9.5
10, 418
1, 055
503
553
4.8
52.4
2,893
310
27.8
29.4
2,168
112
74.9
36.1
7,022
192
67.4
18.2
6, 646
155
94.6
80.7
i
i
MARRIED
All classes.....................................
14,934
100.0
14, 551
1, 547
0.6
10.6
Husband a breadwinner......................
Husband not a breadwinner _
Husband not living at home............
Maintaining home..........................
Living with relatives 2_._.......... .
Boarding or lodging....... ............ .
12. 705
190
2,039
782
491
595
171
85.1
1.3
13.7
5.2
3.3
4.0
1.1
12, 705
190
1, 656
782
464
409
1
85
1,462
622
434
405
1
44.7
88.3
79.5
93.5
99.0
100.0
11,352
1.2
78.0
11,289
99.4
1, 652
3.1
11.4
1,633
98.8
11,159
52
141
115
22
4
87.8
27.4
8.5
14.7
4.7
1.0
11,159
38
92
75
13
4
100.0
73.1
65.2
65.2
59.1
100.0
1,546
53
53
45
8
12.2
27.9
3.2
5.8
L7
1, 546
44
43
36
100.0
83.0
81.1
80.0
87.5
i
i
7
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
Women bread
winners
WIDOWED AND DIVORCED
All classes.._________________
6,079
..................
Maintaining home......... ........................
3,946
Living with relatives 21...........................
3
925
Boarding or lodging ....................... .
834
Other...........
374
100.0
5,457
4,019
0.7
73.6
949
1.8
17.4
544
57.3
489
3.1
9.0
396
81.0
64.9
15.2
13.7
6.2
3,946
810
569
132
2. 626
737
537
119
66.5
91.0
94.4
90.2
844
65
29
11
21.4
8.0
5.1
8.3
492
31
16
5
58.3
47.7
55.2
45.5
476
8
3
2
12.1
1.0
.5
1.5
3t4
7
3
2
80.7
87.5
100.0
100.0
1 Butte, Mont., Jacksonville, Fla., Passaic, N. J., and Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Township, Pa.
Women in Four Selected Cities (a study of census data).
3 Includes those living with parents.
From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 41, The Family Status of Breadwinning
16
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
For three of the four cities under discussion, the number and sex
of the wage earners were tabulated according to size of family. Of
the 20,559 families reported upon, 1 in 5 had no male breadwinner
and 1 in 9 was supported by a woman alone. About 60 per cent of
the 2,231 families having only a woman breadwinner consisted of
two persons, but almost a fourth had three persons and a number
had seven to nine, or more. There were 262 cases of a family of
four or more persons being supported by two women. The size of
the family and the number of men and women breadwinners are
shown in Table 12.
Table 12.—Number of men and women wage earners in breadwinning families, by
size of family—three cities, 1920 1
2 wage earners
1
Total
earner
Size of immediate
family
w om an w age
Families having specified nulhber of wage earners
X! a
Cl)
"3
o
y
ol
m*
3 wage earners 4 wage earners
5d
03 o3
66
^
03
s
o
h
Total-.................. 20, 559 2,331 11,655 1, 334 10, 321 3,560
6, 814 1,387 5,427
4, 053
531 2,739
3, 086
228 1, 570
5 members...... ............
2, 245
106
858
6 members....................... 1,642
528
42
7 members....................... 1,148
23
291
8 members
654
139
7
9 or more members____
917
7
103
742 4,685
330 2,409 783
132 1,438 1, 013
51
807 704
50
478 387
15
276 287
12
127 188
101 198
2
Per cent distribution:
Number of wage
Sex of wage earners.
5g
es
1o
*
CO
C3
o
f*
316 3,244 1.930
129
78
62
25
14
2
6
654
935
642
362
273
186
192
»o
a>
66
1
i
o
h
k fl
{£ C3
5 or more wage
earners
”3
o
EH
73 1, 857 * 1,083
__
275
502
430
296
167
260 .
20
24
12
9
8
255
478
418
287
167
252
75
255
251
153
349
<u
og
£§
Sg
aa
£§
«5
12 1,071
5
6
1
75
250
251
147
348
*
100.0
11.3
56.7
100.0 11.4
17.3
88.6 100.0
9.4
8.9 91.1 100.0
5.3
3.8 96.2 100.0
1 Butte, Mont., Jacksonville, Fla., and Wilkes-Barre and Hanover Township, Pa.
Bureau Bulletin 41.
* Of this number nearly 300 families had 6 or more wage earners.
1.1 98.9
From Women's
Extremely important factors in the consideration of the woman
wage earner are those of the number of children involved and of
whether the mother worked at home or outside the home. The fol
lowing table furnishes a complete picture of these factors. From
this it will be seen that almost two-fifths of the, women who worked
outside the home had children under 5 years of age.
CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN
Table
17
13.—Breadwinning mothers having children of specified age groups at home,
in school, or at work—four cities, 1920 1
Women report Women work
ing number
ing outside
of children
the home
Women work
ing in own
home
Num
ber
Num
ber
Class
Total women having children............_................ . 11,060
Women having children under 5__.......... ........................
Women having children 5 and 6:
At home......................... ..................................................
In school........... .............. ......................................... .......
Women having children 7 and under 14:
At home___________ ______ _______________
In school..........................................................................
Women having children 14 and under 18:
At home,.............................. ..........................................
In school............................................................................
At work ______________
_________ _
Women having children 18 and over:
At home__________ ____________ __________ ___
In school............................................... ..........................
At work-...........................................................................
Per
cent
Num
ber
Per
cent
Per
cent
100.0
4, 274
100.0
6,786
100.0
4,466
40.4
1, 641
38.4
2,825
41.6
1, 561
1, 134
14.1
10.3
660
462
15.4
10.8
901
672
13.3
9.9
361
5,247
3.3
47.4
145
2,265
3.4
53.0
216
2,982
3.2
43.9
274
1, 686
1, 266
2.5
15.2
11.4
97
742
651
2.3
17.4
15.2
177
944
615
2.6
13.9
9.1
420
221
2,263
3.8
2.0
20.5
183
91
871
4.3
2.1
20.4
237
130
1, 392
3.5
1.9
20.5
1 From Women's Bureau Bulletin 41.
The number of children tabulated in relation to the mother’s
marital status, as separated, widowed, or divorced, or having a hus
band who was not employed, is the subject of Table 14. One in five
of the women without a husband’s earnings had children under 5.
And for one-half of those whose husbands were at work, children of
tender age complicated the home conditions for the employed mothers.
Table 14.—Breadwinning mothers having children of specified age groups at homef
in school, or at work, by marital status of mother—four cities, 1920 1
Women who were—
Class
Women re
porting mari
tal status
and number
of children
Num
ber
Total women
having children
Women having chil
dren under 5................
Women having chil
dren 5 and 6:
At home...................
In school...................
Women having chil
dren 7 and under 14:
At home
In school
Women having chil
dren 14 and under 18:
At home.................
In school
At work.
Women having chil
dren 18 and over:
At home____ _____
In school_________
At work...................
Married,
husband a
bread
winner
Married,
husband
not a
bread
winner
Married,
husband
not living
with family
W idowed
Divorced
Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber cent ber cent ber cent
cent
ber cent ber cent
11,055 100.0
7,459 100.0
113 100.0
742 100.0
2,560 100.0
181
100.0
4,465
40.4
3,710
49.7
20
17.7
246
33.2
447
17.5
42
23.2
1,560
1,134
14.1
10.3
1,255
900
16.8
12.1
9
7
8.0
6.2
80
51
10.8
6.9
196
167
7.7
6.5
20
9
11.0
5.0
361
5,244
3.3
47.4
246
3,676
3.3
49.3
4
44
3.5
38.9
27
329
3.6
44.3
71
1,098
2.8
42.9
13
97
7.2
53.6
274
1,686
1,266
2.5
15.2
11.4
170
1,071
695
2.3
14.4
9.3
4
28
18
3.5
24.8
15.9
21
95
93
2.8
12.8
12.5
74
464
436
2.9
18.1
17.0
5
28
24
2.8
15.5
13.3
420
221
2,262
3.8
2.0
20.5
218
154
1,162
2.9
2.1
15.6
14
3
51
12.4
2.7
45.1
20
8
134
2.7
1.1
18.1
162
51
883
6.3
2.0
34.5
6
5
32
3.3
2.8
17.7
1 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 41.
18
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
Other studies.
The Women’s Bureau has made studies of the family responsibilities
of women employed in the canning industry in the States of Delaware
and Washington. The figures show that of 733 women reporting in
Delaware, 9.5 per cent were the chief wage earners in the family,8
9
and of 2,591 reporting in Washington, 5.7 per cent were the sole
wage earners in the family and another 6.8 per cent had no male
wage earner.10 In the latter study, of the 2,513 women who reported
the extent of their contributions to the family, 67.6 per cent contrib
uted all their earnings.
In Delaware industries other than canneries and restaurants, the
data for which are tabulated separately, 31.5 per cent of the families
were maintained primarily by the earnings of the women in the group.
In almost one-fourth of the families the worker scheduled was the
principal bread winner.11
Ordinarily, women with total dependents form no considerable
proportion _ of the total, the more common condition being one of
joint contribution, but there are, nevertheless, large numbers of such
women. In a study of the type of dependents of some 1,800 women,
made by the Women’s Bureau in 1919, 1 in 3 of the 751 single women
reported the mother to be dependent, and 1 in 7 of the 490 married
women reported a dependent husband.12 The following table, also
from the study of the share of wage-earning women in family support,
shows that 1 in 7 of the women included in eight studies incorporated
in that report were supporting total dependents.
Table 15.—Women who had total “dependents” as re-ported by various agencies•
Type of women studied
Date of
study
Total
number
of
women
included
Number and per
cent c f women
who had total dependents
Number
Total for 8 studies
Per cent
................................ ..
1912-1921
16,964
2,301
13.6
Women teachers in Massachusetts.....................
Women in industry in Kansas............................
Women street-car conductors in Detroit_____
Women in an electrical plant in Schenectady..
Women in one division of Library of Congress.
Wage-earning women and girls in Connecticut
Women in stores in Boston......... .........................
Women in stores in Kansas City........................
1921
1920
1919-1920
1918
1917
1915-1916
1913-1914
1912
190
4,326
47
100
23
8, 722
1,156
2,400
54
266
22
9
13
1,676
29
232
28.4
6.1
46.8
9.0
56.5
19.2
2.5
9.7
• From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 30, p. 127.
6 Sources of information: Women’s Educational and Industrial Union, Old-Age Support of Women
Teachers, Provisions for Old Age Made by Women Teachers in the Public Schools of Massachusetts, 1021:
U. S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, Women’s Wages in Kansas, 1921; U. S. Department of
Labor, Women's Bureau, Women Street-Car Conductors and Ticket Agents, 1921; National War Labor
Board, Cost of Living in Schenectady, N. Y., 1918 (unpublished); U. S. Congress, Sixty-fifth Congress,
second session, 1917-18, Statement of Librarian of Congress on Appropriations; Connecticut Bureau of
Labor, Report on the Conditions of Wage-Earning Women and Girls. 1916; U. S. Bureau of Labor Statis
tics, Unemployment Among Women in Department and Other Retail Stores of Boston, 1916; Kansas City
Board of Public Welfare, Fourth Annual Report, 1913.
8 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 62, Women’s Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware,
1927, p. 108.
10 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 47, Women in the Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the
State of Washmgton, 1926, p. 11.
*
11 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 58, Women in Delaware Industries, 1927. d. 108.
11 From Women’s Bureau Bulletin 30, p. 128.
19
CONTRIBUTIONS BY WOMEN
A number of other studies, generally of a later period, report the
extent to which women contribute to the support of persons they
consider to be “dependent,” though this term is not defined. Of
seven surveys, covering more than 13,000 women,13 21.7 per cent of
the women were contributing to the maintenance of dependents, as
is shown in Table 16.
Table 16.—Women contributing to “dependents" as reported by various agencies1
Type of women studied
Total for 7 studies....................................................................
Single women wage earners under 35 years of age in Cincinnati.
At home_________ __________ ________________________
Adrift........................ .............................................................
Date of
study
Women who con
Number
tributed to “de
of women
pendents” (type
who re
not specified)
ported on
depend
ents
Number Per cent
1920-1927
13,188
2,656
21.7
1927
2 368
214
73
81
95
2 530
446
84
59
11,438
194
29
137
102
35
24
1,971
176
3 82
3 20
314
30. 5
25.8
22.9
41.7
40.7
17.2
90.7
504
319
63.3
Employed women, chiefly single, in Toledo.................................. 1926-1927
Teachers in Minneapolis...................................................
1926
Single.................................................... .............
Married_______ _______________________ _____
Women earning $18 or less in Arkansas............... .................. .........
1924
1922-1924
Industrial home workers in Wisconsin____ _____ ______
1921
Women in the manufacture of druggists’ preparations in Mas1920
1 Sources of information: Helen S. Trounstine Foundation, Wage-earning Girls in Cincinnati, 1927;
Information Bureau on Women’s Work (Toledo), The Floating World, 1927; Meeker, Royal, Study of
Costs and Standards of Living of Minneapolis Teachers in Relation to Their Salaries, 1926; Arkansas
Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Wage-Earning Women, 1924; Oregon Bureau of Labor, Eleventh biennial
report, 1924; National Consumers’ League, State Minimum-Wage Laws in Practice, 1924; Massachusetts
Department of Labor, Wages of Women Employed in the Manufacture of Druggists' Preparations, Pro
prietary Medicines, and Chemical Compounds in Massachusetts in 1920, 1923.
2 Total number of women reporting in the study.
3 In this case per cents only were reported.
From other reports similar testimony may be gathered. For ex
ample, of 74,000 Rochester women reported by the census of 1920 as
married, widowed, or divorced, 28 per cent were gainfully occupied.14
Even in the 59,000 cases where the husband lived with the family,
almost 9 per cent of the wives were employed away from home; and
of 2,300 cases where the husband was absent, 48 per cent of the
wives had outside employment. In about 4,300 families the wife or
widow was the only bread winner.
In a study of 843 working mothers with dependent children in
Chicago 15 68 per cent of the families had no support from the father.
In less than 20 per cent of the cases was the father a regular con
tributor.
And all this leaves out of consideration the woman’s contribution
in the way of labor in the home—the eternal cooking, dishwashing,
scrubbing, laundering—and her care of those who are dependent
upon her not alone for material things but for the wisdom and patience
which, though essential in dealing with the very young and the
very old, are so difficult to maintain by the woman who works for
long hours away from home.
13 Nearly nine-tenths were in one study.
14 U. S. Bureau of the Census. The Woman Home Maker in the City, 1923.
“ U. S. Department of Labor. Children’s Bureau. Children of Wage-Earning Mothers, 1922.
20
WAGE-EARNING WOMAN CONTRIBUTES TO FAMILY SUPPORT
In many instances the efforts of women to provide for the family
are far more heroic than are some of the things officially recognized
as heroism. Because of love of family and good citizenship, many
women must shoulder economic burdens caused by conditions that
should not be permitted to exist. The stamina and the courage re
quired to face the responsibilities shouldered would carry the women
far if opportunity would open up for them. Society must awaken
to the fact that the double standard in wages is an unfair discrimina
tion and must recognize that in matters of employment opportunities
and equal wages women find chivalry a myth. Since, as has fre
quently been demonstrated in history, a nation can be only as strong
as its women, there is great need of concern about an economic or
ganization that forces upon women burdens that menace their health
and welfare, great need of an effort to mitigate the practices that tend
to handicap and exploit women, and great need of a broad and
thorough study of these problems by the State and National Gov
ernments.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE WOMEN’S BUREAU
[Any of these bulletins still available will be sent free of charge upon request.]
No. 1. Proposed Employment of Women During the War in the Industries of Niagara Falls, N. Y.
16 pp. 1918.
Labor Laws for Women in Industry in Indiana. 29 pp. 1919.
Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. 8 pp. Third ed., 1921.
Wages of Candy Makers in Philadelphia in 1919. 46 pp. 1919.
The Eight-Hour Day in Federal and State Legislation. 19 pp. 1919.
The Employment of Women in Hazardous Industries in the United States. 8 pp. 1921.
Night-Work Laws in the United States. (1919). 4 pp. 1920.
Women in the Government Service. 37 pp. 1920.
Home Work in Bridgeport, Conn. 35 pp. 1920.
Hours and Conditions of Work for Women in Industry in Virginia. 32 pp. 1920,
Women Street Car Conductors and Ticket Agents. 90 pp. 1921.
The New Position of Women in American Industry. 158 pp. 1920.
Industrial Opportunities and Training for Women and Girls. 48 pp. 1921.
A Physiological Basis for the Shorter Working Day for Women. 20 pp. 1921.
Some Effects of Legislation Limiting Hours of Work for Women. 26 pp. 1921.
(See Bulletin 63.)
Women’s Wages in Kansas. 104 pp. 1921.
Health Problems of Women in Industry. 11 pp. 1921.
Iowa Women in Industry. 73 pp. 1922.
Negro Women in Industry. 65 pp. 1922.
Women in Rhode Island Industries. 73 pp. 1922.
Women in Georgia Industries. 89 pp. 1922.
The Family Status of Breadwinning Women. 43 pp. 1922.
Women in Maryland Industries. 96 pp. 1922.
Women in the Candy Industry in Chicago and St. Louis. 72 pp. 1923.
Women in Arkansas Industries. 86 pp. 1923.
The Occupational Progress of Women. 37 pp. 1922.
Women's Contributions in the Field of Invention. 51 pp. 1923.
Women in Kentucky Industries. 114 pp. 1923.
The Share of Wage-Earning Women in Family Support. 170 pp. 1923,
What Industry Means to Women Workers. 10 pp. 1923.
Women in South Carolina Industries. 128 pp. 1923.
Proceedings of the Women’s Industrial-Conference. 190 pp. 1923.
Women in Alabama Industries. 86 pp. 1924.
Women in Missouri Industries. 127 pp. 1924.
Radio Talks on Women in Industry. 34 pp. 1924.
Women in New Jersey Industries. 99 pp. 1924.
Married Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1924.
Domestic Workers and their Employment Relations. 87 pp. 1924.
(See Bulletin 63.)
Family Status of Breadwinning Women in Four Selected Cities. 145 pp. 1925.
List of References on Minimum Wage for Women in the United States and Canada. 42 pp. 1925.
Standard and Scheduled Hours of Work for Women in Industry. 68 pp. 1925.
Women in Ohio Industries. 137 pp. 1925.
Home Environment and Employment Opportunities of Women in Coal-Mine Workers’ Families.
61pp. 1925.
No. 46. Facts about Working Women—A Graphic Presentation Based on Census Statistics. 64 pp. 1925.
No. 47. Women in the Fruit-Growing and Canning Industries in the State of Washington. 223 pp. 1926.
*No. 48. Women in Oklahoma Industries. 118 pp. 1926.
No. 49. Women Workers and Family Support. 10 pp: 1925.
No. 50. Effects of Applied Research upon the Employment Opportunities of American Women. 54 pp.
1926.
*No. 51. Women in Illinois Industries. 108 pp. 1926.
No. 52. Lost Time and Labor Turnover in Cotton Mills. 203 pp. 1926.
No. 53. The Status of Women in the Government Service in 1925. 103 pp. 1926.
No. 54. Changing Jobs. 12 pp. 1926.
No. 55. Women in Mississippi Industries. 89 pp. 1926.
No. 56. Women in Tennessee Industries. 120 pp. 1927.
No. 57. Women Workers and Industrial Poisons. 5 pp. 1926.
No. 58. Women in Delaware Industries. 156 pp. 1927.
No. 59. Short Talks About Working Women. 24 pp. 1927.
No. 60. Industrial Accidents to Women in New Jersey, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 316 pp. 1927.
No. 61. The Development of Minimum-Wage Laws in the United States, 1912 to 1927. 635 pp. 1928.
Price 90 cents.
No. 62. Women’s Employment in Vegetable Canneries in Delaware. 47 pp. 1927.
No. 63. State Laws Affecting Working Women. 51 pp. 1927. (Revision of Bulletins 16 and 40.)
No. 64. The Employment of Women at Night. 86 pp. 1928.
•No. 65. The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women. 498 pp. 1928.
No. 66. History of Labor Legislation for Women in Three States; Chronological Development of Labor
Legislation for Women in the United States. 288 pp. 1929.
No. 67. Women Workers in Flint, Mich. 80 pp. 1928.
No. 68. Summary: The Effects of Labor Legislation on the Employment Opportunities of Women.
(Reprint of Chapter II of Bulletin 65.) 22 pp. 1928.
No. 69. Causes of Absence for Men and for Women in Four Cotton Mills. 24 pp. 1929.
No. 70. Negro Women in Industry in 15 States. 74 pp. 1929.
No. 71. Selected References on the Health of Women in Industry. 8 pp. 1929.
No. 72. Conditions of Work in Spin Rooms. 41 pp. 1929.
No. 73. Variations in Employment Trends of Women and Men. (In press.)
No. 74. The Immigrant Woman and Her Job. (In press.)
No. 75. What the Wage-Earning Woman Contributes to Family Support. 20 pp. 1929.
No. 76. W omen in 5-and-10-cent Stores and Limited-Price Chain Department Stores. (In press.)
No. 77. A Study of Two Groups of Denver Married Women Applying for Jobs. (In press.)
Annual reports of the Director, 1919*, 1920*, 1921*, 1922, 1923, 1924*, 1925,1926, 1927*, 1928,1929.
No. 2.
No. 3.
No. 4.
•No. 5,
No. 6.
No. 7.
*No. 8.
*No. 9.
*No. 10.
No. 11.
•No. 12.
No. 13.
•No. 14.
No. 15.
No. 16.
No. 17.
No. 18.
No. 19.
•No. 20.
No. 21.
•No. 22.
No. 23.
No. 24.
No. 25.
No. 26.
No. 27.
No. 28.
No. 29.
No. 30.
No. 31.
No. 32.
No. 33.
No. 34.
No. 35.
No. 36.
No. 37.
No. 38.
No. 39.
No. 40.
No. 41.
No. 42.
No. 43.
No. 44.
No. 45.
'Supply exhausted.
O
21
@FedFRASER